When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
That looks very good. Is it NHRA legal without the back bar across the main hoop (behind the seats)? Does the main hoop attatch to the flat part of the floor (behind seats) or to the humps in the hatch area? BTW, I got the heads done, thanks for the tips. :seeya
Yes it is welded right to the flat spots behind the seats.
I think the NHRA needs the back bar to attach the 5 point harness to. I run on IHRA tracks and they are OK without it. I was thinking of adding that this winter though.
Phil,
You're still here!!! I was talking to someone about you the other day. Someone who has a 396 and was thinking about boreing it out to .060 and I thought about your car. Haven't seen you around lately. Do you still have that monster of a car and what's going on with it?
I have some questions also. As I interpet the NHRA rule book the side bar has to cross down between the shoulder and elbo at a 45 degree. It says that you may use a swing out.
What are your thoughts on a swing out? I am putting in a cage for personel safety not just to meet a regulation. My car is going in the shop for a custom 6 or 8 point cage
I'm still here. Just been a busy year. Things have finally been getting back to normal. Still have Hoover, currently more of a commuter car. I've been driving it to work everyday all summer, but have only made it to the track twice all year. Heading to an EFI Shootout at Rockingham this Sunday though.
gkull,
The swing outs didn't really seem to swing out enough to get out of the way in the small Corvette door opening. At least not with the ones my fabricator had. That is why he used the posts to remove the side bars completely. They go in pretty easy.
We have several roll bars to choose from. Our most popular is the chrome-moly unit (.95 thick wall x 2.0" O.D. Tube). This is a one piece unit that is SCCA approved. Aprox. weight is 40 Lbs. This is the lightest & strongest roll bar on the market. Available for 84-94 model
no side bars but you could add them, and you can't store the top like Phil's ( a real nice feature. )
LT401Vette: I really like your bar install. One question: how are the door panels modified, if any. On my 96, I can't see installing a side bar without really cutting up the door panel to even make things comfortable (limited intrusion to driver, etc).
I copied phils a while back. I am running a competition engineering swing out. Yes, Like phil mentioned above the swing take out is the way togo. My does swing out for track use but when not at the track its out of the car.
There are no modifications to the door panels. My leg does lean up against the bar, but not to an uncomfortable level except maybe on a long trip. I take it out for that.
I have a S & W racecars 5 point Mild Steel Rollbar = $ 169.00
I also ordered a Swingout kit. $ 39.00
(Prices are out of memory, and within 10 bucks or so.)
This kit was actually a 8 point kit, but you just throw out the extra bars. The Fabricator did have some fiddling to get it to work, I spent $ 400 with the fabricator, for a total of roughly $ 600 in my bar. The bar came unfinished, you really want to clean it up and paint or powder coat to your taste before putting it in.
The Sidebar connects up above my shoulder with a bigass pushbutton pin, very easy to swing out, the bottom is attached to a swivel with a single bigass bolt and nut. Thus the whole sidebar is removable within 60 seconds. In fact I haven't even had it attached within the last 6 months.... nobody checks while you're racing, especially after they've got to know you.
With my 5 point harnass, I have the shoulder harnasses attached to another bigass bolt that I have drilled into the lower rear support bar. The lap belts both are bolted below the seat to the seatframe bolts. The crotch belt I have no place for, so I just have it wrapped around the seat underneath.... I've gotten away with this so far, but I'm going to have to do something about this problem one of these days.
Negatives: 1) I cannot put the glass top into the back with the bar. 2) I should have gone Chrome Moly, the Mild steel is pretty heavy at roughly 80lbs all told, whereas I think Chrome Moly would have been 30lbs lighter. However, Chrome Moly is over double the price. 3) Also on the side bar, you probably want your fabricator to extend the sidebar and move the side latch back about 3-4 inches closer to the main hoop, this is to avoid an occasional spine tingler when getting in and out of the seat.
I purchased my bar in kit form from Jegs. Though it's not a C4, their kits are NHRA approved for thickness & strength. The main hoop is already prebent, you fit the other bars to it & your car. We built the entire 4 pt bar outside of the car, "measuring and installing" in the car as we went. When we were completely finished with the bar, we then welded it into the car. :cheers:
Beach - I was going to go with chromemoly 1 1/2 to comply with the NHRA/SCCA rules. The real problem is that there is no way to properly aneal chromemoly welds while putting them in your car. So you end up with joints that break - not bend. Chromemoly is only good if you make the cage and then put the body on it.
Mikeo - Yours is a great system for pre-78, But I'm going for the windshield and behind the head hoops.
From: Former NCM Drag Racing coordinator, National director Corvette Challenge Spring Hill, Tennessee: Whiting, New Jersey
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Re: Roll Bars? (91tpi-zf)
Mine goes in the shop(Neverlift in NJ) to have a 5 point bar, with a swingout door bar. All Chrome moly.
This is a real race car chassis shop. When I called and told then I was interested in a roll bar, they asked if I had a 7 or 8 sec car. These guys are hardcore. I like that.
John
I will email you some pics. I ordered the S&W kit for a 91 vette. The hoop is a little short in regards to setting it on the pillers. My down bars are set in a way that the roof will still slide in.
My swing out is a Compitition Engineering model.
Beach - I was going to go with chromemoly 1 1/2 to comply with the NHRA/SCCA rules. The real problem is that there is no way to properly aneal chromemoly welds while putting them in your car. So you end up with joints that break - not bend. Chromemoly is only good if you make the cage and then put the body on it.